GW250119_190238
Gravitational-wave source · GWTC-5.0
A black hole of about 21 solar masses, formed on 2025-01-19 when two black holes of roughly 12 and 10 solar masses spiralled together 1.0 billion light-years away. LIGO and Virgo felt the collision as ripples in spacetime.
Computed render20.6 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
61 km
event-horizon radius (computed)
1.0 billion ly
from Earth
12+10 ☉
the two that merged
The two black holes that merged were about 12 (11–13) and 10 (8–11) solar masses. The remnant is 21 (20–21) solar masses. Values in parentheses are the 90% credible ranges from LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA (GWTC).
Its event horizon, the edge past which nothing returns, spans about 61 km in radius. The waves we detected had been travelling for 1.0 billion years before they reached us.
Black holes of similar mass
GW151226Gravitational-wave source20.7 ☉GW190720_000836Gravitational-wave source20.8 ☉GW240825_055146Gravitational-wave source20.3 ☉GW200316_215756Gravitational-wave source20.2 ☉GW190930_133541Gravitational-wave source20.2 ☉GW241009_084816Gravitational-wave source20.1 ☉
Source: Gravitational-Wave Open Science Center (GWTC-5.0), LIGO Virgo KAGRA. CC BY 4.0. See data & analysis for full sourcing.